My body ached as I lugged my ginormous suitcase behind me. The multiple hours I had spent cooped up on the airplane had taken a toll on my body. My stomach was still upset from the plane food I had just eaten, but I continued on toward the automatic doors. Right as I crossed the threshold, I was bathed in warm golden sunlight. The smell of damp earth filled my nostrils as my uncles and aunts swarmed around me and the rest of my family in a sea of hugs and laughter. As I took a second to relish the moment, one of my uncles turned to me and said, “Karibu Tanzania.”
Tanzania, home of the Serengeti, Kilimanjaro, and Zanzibar island, is my ancestral home. Before I visited Tanzania, my mother and father told me stories of their life there. When my mother was younger, she lived in a small town called Moshi at the base of Kilimanjaro. Every morning she would wake up at the crack of dawn to the looming mountain waiting for her to start the day. She and her sisters would fetch the family’s water supply from the nearby river. Then she would get dressed and go to school, where she hung out with her friends until the sun retired for the night. On the other side of the country my father lived in a town called Kilosa. My father would always rave about his adventures in Kilosa as a young boy. He would talk about his friends and relatives, riding his bike around town, and the books he read in the rolling, green hills. When my parents got older, they eventually moved to the big city, Dar-es-Salaam. Dar-es-Salaam is like the New York City of Tanzania: the place everyone wants to be to enjoy city life.
Prior to going to Tanzania for the first time, I never understood how different the life I led in Houston could be different from someone’s life in a different city across the world. All the stories my parents told me sounded beautiful. But in my mind, I imagined Tanzania to be the same as the U.S. When I finally arrived in Tanzania, the culture shock was immense.
As we left the airport and headed to my grandma’s house, for the first time in my life, I felt like I was seeing the beauty of life. The green leaves of the trees were more vibrant than the leaves in Texas. Women wore dresses with elaborate patterns while most men wore soccer jerseys. Children wandered around the crowded streets freely without care. On every corner I turned, there was someone trying to sell me a new product. Everyone was unique in their own way. Most importantly to me, I was surrounded by so many people who looked like me.
We finally arrived at my grandparents house when the sun had retired for the day. Although I talked to them over the phone, this was the first time I was meeting them in person, and I was extremely nervous. As soon as I stepped into the house, I was embraced by my grandma, Bibi, speaking Swahili. I spent that night getting to know my extended family. When everyone was ready to say good night, my parents and I went to stay at my cousin’s house a couple minutes away. I remember that as we rode through the dark, I saw stars for the first time. My aunt asked me why I was so shocked to see stars. I remember telling her that I never knew they could shine so bright.
For the rest of that trip, we traveled across the country, visiting family and friends that my parents hadn’t seen in twenty years. I got to taste so many different foods and drinks. For example, Tanzania has a unique variety of sodas. My personal favorite is the passion fruit soda flavor. Everything tasted different there. Every fruit and vegetable had a fresh flavor to it.
My favorite place I visited during this trip was Zanzibar. It was such a tiny island with so much history and culture packed into it. The water was so clear. I could see everything under the shore, including starfish and turtles—animals I had never seen before. The architecture of stone town, the port town, was influenced by Arab, Indian, and European styles from long ago.
I also visited the grasslands when I went to Serengeti National Park. I was able to see animals of all kinds: lions, zebras, giraffes, elephants, and so much more. Seeing the animals not in the confines of a zoo felt magical to me. I was in awe of the beauty of nature. In awe of the beauty of earth.
The last time I visited Tanzania was the summer before sophomore year. I spent most of that trip lounging around the city of Dar-es-Salaam, spending time with my extended family. As I spent more time there, I thought back on everything I had learned over the past few years about this country. Although Tanzania is nothing like the US, it is still a country filled with so much life and love. It reminded me that the world is huge, and the world is waiting for me to explore it even more than I already have.
